Previously an existing patient could simply enter their phone no. and login.  Now there are too many steps and some elderly patients are not liking this. Thats been our experience

I think once we are sure that patients dont have the ability to “play” with the system and keep changing  or cancelling their appointment, we will look to use it.

Couple of issues with portal that needs to be addressed,

Patients are able to book multiple appointments for the same reason e.g., EXAM, which could lead to scheduling conflicts, confusion, and inefficient resource management.

NHS patients are able to book private exams, leading to confusion at reception, particularly when patients insist they booked an NHS appointment despite having selected and paid for private services this results in delays.

Despite these issues we are still using the portal for 4 sites and happy with the feature. 

I have to say, I agree with @Abhishek  It is quite a lot for them to input. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that we haven’t had any negative comments from patients about it yet (probably jinxing myself now).

We have noticed, though, that with the increase in online bookings, our telephone lines have freed up massively, giving our admin teams much more time to assist patients who are less able to book online which is a bonus.  I’m having to find my call centre more tasks to keep them busy! 

Overall, I’m very happy, but we’re looking forward to when existing patients can pay deposits for their recall appointments.

It seems a little cumbersome to use for our patients. 

We get a lot of comments that the system sends a text out but if they on a nother screen they lose the text (not everyone is as tech savvy) 

I know security is a big thing but I think that a better way of logging in without having to send text message all the time would be better - we would get a lot more people using it. 

Also, a lot of people cant book a recall appt if they go on and check their portal unless an email/sms is sent with the link, would be nice to have an “app” style to use for pts or a website they could visit, i think this would encourage more people to use and would be helpful for outstanding treatments

The system does not book immediate appointments that are available over the next hour. It only shows appointments available after one hour. So say if my emergency appointment duration is set to 1 hour and it is now 3:05pm and the list is empty and we close at 5pm, online booking shows no availability! I understand the point of not showing immediate appointments but perhaps a 15 minute (or max max 30 min) buffer is enough rather than a buffer of 1 whole hour. Please look into this.

Hi everyone!

Wow, this thread has been full of amazing insights and feedback! Thank you all so much for taking the time to share your experiences! I’ve spoken with our Product team to make sure they’re aware of everything mentioned here. The good news is that your input really helps us shape our priorities, so please keep it coming.

I also wanted to let you know that in 2025, we’re planning to run more events and webinars with the Product team to give you a closer look at where we’re headed and share our vision for various features. I think these will be great opportunities to address some of these pain points directly and have more collaborative conversations with all of you.

I’ll keep you updated as soon as I have more info to share on those plans. In the meantime, if there’s anything else on your mind, let us know!

Thanks again for being such a thoughtful and engaged part of the community.

I have been experiencing issues since the New Year. I have had no patients book online since then and they are calling the clinic with issues. Booking/payment seems to be the problem. Once they are in via manual booking all reminders etc work fine. 
 

I have grey areas appear in my diary with a sand timer where people try to book in however they fail mid process and it disappears. I haven’t had the best experience in the first 6 months the of a one clinic practice. I feel like I’m missing out on potential patients. 
 

I have asked friends to try and have also tried the process myself and cannot complete the full process.  I have spoken with the online chat and apparently no issues. But there definately is somewhere.

Afternoon ​@The Chelmsford Hygienist - Thank you for sharing this; I will look into this now for you with priority and pop you a quick call.